So-called Referendum Fails To Attract Enough Voters

A poll organised by 30 trade unions and a students’ group to consider what actions to take in protest against the new security law that Beijing is planning to impose on the city failed to attract enough voters.

That was despite the organisers extending the time for polling by an hour till 9 pm, after a surge in people turning up late in the evening.

The self-styled referendum was to decide whether or not to stage a strike and class boycott - but only if more than 60,000 members voted and over 60 percent backed their plan.

A statement issued by the organisers in the early hours of Sunday morning showed that only about 9,000 votes had been cast by union members, and of those 98 percent opposed the proposed national security law, and 95 percent had voted in favour of strike action.

It was left unclear what action, if any, the organisers would take next.